Last year in my A to Z Reading Challenge I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by Hunter S. Thomson . I loathed that book, which was a gratui...moreLast year in my A to Z Reading Challenge I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by Hunter S. Thomson . I loathed that book, which was a gratuitous orgy of abuse of drugs, alcohol, and women . There was no redeeming value. Michael Chabon, in writing Wonder Boys, has told the tale of another author also caught in a personal struggle with the "midnight disease."
Grady Tripp is a professor of creative writing at an unnamed university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the movie of the same name was filmed on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh). Grady is a weak man. Early in the story he realizes his third wife has left him and wonders if she has learned that he is having an affair with his boss' wife, who happens to be the chancellor of the university where he works. For the past 7 years Grady has been writing his fourth novel, an epic tale about the Wonder family; the manuscript has grown to 2,611 pages with no end in sight. He suffers from "the midnight disease," hypergraphia -- the driving compulsion to write. And he smokes pot, lots of pot, all day long. Over the span of one spring weekend, the weekend of Wordfest, we see Grady's life spiraling downward toward his death --"I rose like a kite, in fits, tethered to the mortal husk of Grady Tripp by a thin pearly string. Below me Pittsburgh lay spread, brick and blacktop and iron bridges, fog in its hollows, half hidden by rain. The wind snapped at the flap of my jacket and rang in my ears like blood. There were birds in my hair. A jagged beard of ice grew from my chin. I'm not making this up. I heard Sara Gaskell calling my name, and looked down, way down into the fog and rain of my life on earth, and saw her kneeling beside my body, blowing her breath into my lungs."
Does Grady Tripp die? Would his entire life have been as futile as writing his name in water? Read Wonder Boys, by Michael Chabon, and find out for yourself.(less)
On May 27th, 1933 the World’s Fair , the Century of Progress Exposition, opened in Chicago, Illinois. One of the highest grossing exhibits in the Expo...moreOn May 27th, 1933 the World’s Fair , the Century of Progress Exposition, opened in Chicago, Illinois. One of the highest grossing exhibits in the Exposition, second only to the exotic fan dancer Sally Rand, was the Infant Incubator , the brainchild of Dr. Martin Couney, a specialist in the care of prematurely born infants.
In her historical fiction novel, The Hatbox Baby, Carrie Brown recounts the tale of a fragile baby boy placed in a hatbox round as his mother’s pregnant belly immediately after his premature birth and delivered into the hands of Dr. Leo Hoffman, curator of Baby Incubators: All the World Loves a Baby, an exhibit at the Century Of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Through weird twists of fate, the newborn baby weaves his way into the heart of St. Louis Percy, dwarf cousin and bodyguard of the famous fan dancer Caroline Day, who herself becomes the lover of Dr. Hoffman.
Although the story loses some of its initial momentum, I found the crafting of words to be so evocative that I was reluctant to put this book down and when the story ended I craved more. Has Ms. Brown left her story open –ended with a thought to writing more or to letting the reader ponder on the most satisfying end to this heartrending and heartwarming drama of an earlier time? I don’t know. What I do know is that The Hatbox Baby has become one of my all-time favorite books. I hope you’ll read it for yourself/ (less)
Cane River tells about the lives of 4 generations of women in Tademy's bloodline. Elisabeth, a slave, was born in 1799 on a Virginia plantation; the y...moreCane River tells about the lives of 4 generations of women in Tademy's bloodline. Elisabeth, a slave, was born in 1799 on a Virginia plantation; the young master exercised his rights of ownership and Elisabeth became pregnant. In a fit of jealousy, the young mistress of the plantation sold Elisabeth to a cousin who owned a plantation in Louisiana, separating her from her young sons. In Louisiana she married Gerasime, a field hand on the Derbanne plantation; with him she had three daughters, Palmire, Apphia, and Suzette and a son Solitaire. Elisabeth and Suzette were worked in the "house" where Suzette caught the eye of a French wine merchant, Eugene Daurat who compared her to an 1825 La Fite Bordeaux . "Look at the lovely color. It has a ravishing bouquet, and a flavor to match ... may still be a bit young, but sometimes it can be difficult to wait." She was 13 when he deflowered her, telling her, "merci, ma chere," when he was finished. He preyed upon her for several more years before returning to France, leaving her with a young, fair-skinned daughter, Philomene.
Cane River recounts the lives of 4 generations of women in Tademy's bloodline. Elisabeth, a slave, was born in 1799 on a Virginia plantation; the young master exercised his rights of ownership and Elisabeth became pregnant. In a fit of jealousy, the young mistress of the plantation sold Elisabeth to a cousin who owned a plantation in Louisiana, separating her from her young sons. In Louisiana she married Gerasime, a field hand on the Derbanne plantation; with him she had three daughters, Palmire, Apphia, and Suzette and a son Solitaire. Elisabeth and Suzette were worked in the "house" where Suzette caught the eye of a French wine merchant, Eugene Daurat who compared her to an 1825 La Fite Bordeaux . "Look at the lovely color. It has a ravishing bouquet, and a flavor to match ... may still be a bit young, but sometimes it can be difficult to wait." She was 13 when he deflowered her, telling her, "merci, ma chere," when he was finished. He preyed upon her for several more years before returning to France, leaving her with a young, fair-skinned daughter, Philomene, born with a gift to see the future. exercises some degree of control over the Narcisse Fridieu, a cousin of her owner, by foreseeing that only she can bear him children. He is the father of the fair-skinned Emily. Ms Tademy has fictionalized some details in this family saga, but her story carries the weight of truth and documented history; photos and transcripts of actual documents are included, lending that proof of realism.
This is Ms Tademy's first book; overall she has written a compelling story which reinforces Elisabeth's belief, "You only get one family." "A family belongs together," and Ms Tademy has brought hers together again in Cane River (less)
Set in the small town of Annette, Texas in 1962, World of Pies is a series of vignettes about the coming of age of Roxanne Milner, 12 years old as her...moreSet in the small town of Annette, Texas in 1962, World of Pies is a series of vignettes about the coming of age of Roxanne Milner, 12 years old as her story opens. Roxanne's father, owner of Carl's Corsets and a member of the Annette Chamber of Commerce, conceived the plan for the town's Fourth of July Pie Fair; her mother was a member of the committee responsible for setting the rules for the pie-judging competition. One of these rules required that all pies must be made by the person who was submitting the pie to be judged, a rule which introduced Roxanne to the existence of racial discrimination and its impact on her life and that of her parents.Through ensuing chapters we follow Roxanne'e life as she passes through her turbulent teenage years -- her first kiss, her first part-time job, high school graduation, college, marriage and parenthood, with a few other surprises thrown in along the way.
Ms. Stolz (karenstolz.com/content/description-of...) has graciously ended her book with a collection of recipes enjoyed by the residents of Annette, even the recipe for the Sweet Potato Pie which created controversy for the Pie Fair. Aunt Ruthie's Lemon Pound Cake might appear in this reviewer's kitchen in the near future!
World of Pies is a quick, entertaining read, perfect for a lazy summer afternoon of reading on the front porch with a tall glass of lemonade at your side. Enjoy it. I did.
It's been a stretch since I have blogged about any of my reading challenges; truth be told, it's been a long time since I have read any of the books f...moreIt's been a stretch since I have blogged about any of my reading challenges; truth be told, it's been a long time since I have read any of the books from my reading lists. Mostly I have been reading either back issues of magazines I subscribe to or mindless escapist fluff, which I have not felt compelled to write about. Last week, however, while searching my shelves for a A Prayer for Owen Meany, a book I am sure my husband would love, I happened to find this gem of a book, These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901, written by Nancy E. Parker, a book representing Arizona on my Fifty States in Fiction Challenge.
Written in epistolary form, These Is My Words is a fictionalized accounting of the life of Ms Parker's great-grandmother, Sarah Agnes Prine, the sole surviving daughter of foot-loose parents who as children had traveled along the Oregon Trail and then as adults migrated to the New Mexico Territories and began horse ranching. We meet Sarah at age 17 as she and her family are driving their herd of horses across the New Mexico desert to settle in the greener pastures of San Angelo, Texas. The trail ride is arduous; Sarah's younger brother Clover is snake-bit and dies, the wagon train is attacked by Apaches, villainous outlaws appear, and just as the party is nearing journey's end, a band of marauding Comanches steals their herd of horses. Sarah's father has a heart attack and dies, her mother has a nervous breakdown, and Sarah and her brothers must make a plan to care for themselves and their mama for the rest of her days.
What does the Prine family do? They fill their wagons with fruit and nut trees and make their way back across the New Mexico Territory to Arizona, this time as part of a wagon train escorted by Army troops under the leadership of Captain Jack Elliot, a fictional character loosely based on the author's own husband. The family eventually settles on the banks of Cienega Creek near the Army fort at Tucson where Sarah marries a man she has known from childhood. It is not a marriage of deep love or passion; and when her husband Jimmy dies, she is filled not so much with grief at his death, but with guilt that she cannot mourn his passing.
Sarah Prine's father once taught her, "A nice girl never goes anywhere without a loaded gun and a big knife." Had she not followed these paternal words of wisdom, we may never have been given the opportunity to read about this larger than life heroine of These Is My Words. She faced the travails of pioneer life with spunk and determination, saying "Well, honey, you might live over it, but you won't look like much."
Ah, but don't feel too sorry for Sarah. These Is My Words is, after all is said and done, a love story, worthy of being passed from friend to friend to friend because, in the words of Sarah Prine, "Why any woman does that. A girl has got to get along." (less)
Imagine being 22 years old and, in the eyes of your community, a "confirmed old maid" when the catch of the town appears on your doorstep to propose...more Imagine being 22 years old and, in the eyes of your community, a "confirmed old maid" when the catch of the town appears on your doorstep to propose a hasty marriage to be followed by a "honeymoon" wagon trek across the Great Plains to a homestead in Colorado. What would you have done? In the epistolary novel, The Diary of Mattie Spenser, author Sandra Dallas tells the story of just such a fictional character, Mattie Faye McCauley. Through entries made into a diary given to her on her wedding day by her best friend with instructions to "use it to record my joys and sorrows, and to keep a thorough record of our wedding trip overland to Colorado Territory and the events in the life of an old married woman. Then I'm to send it back to her.", Mattie chronicles the tragedies and treacheries of the first 3 1/2 years of her marriage to Luke Spenser. Mattie never sent the diary back to her friend Carrie; instead she hid it inside a trunk where it was discovered by her 94-years-old granddaughter, Hazel, as she sorts through her family's heirlooms prior to moving to a retirement home. Having no living heirs, Hazel gives many of these heirlooms, including the diary, to a neighbor who transcribes the cross-hatched writing and shares the secrets held inside with Hazel. It is through the ensuing conversations that we learn the remainder of Mattie's incredible life. Each time I have read stories told by Sandra Dallas I have been entertained. This book has confirmed her place on my list of favorite authors. I hope you enjoy The Diary of Mattie Spenser as much as I did and go on to read other books written by Sandra Dallas; she is an incredible story teller. (less)
Shark Dialogues, an epic tale of the Coenradsten family is intricately woven through the tapestry of the history of Hawai'i. The story opens in 1991 a...moreShark Dialogues, an epic tale of the Coenradsten family is intricately woven through the tapestry of the history of Hawai'i. The story opens in 1991 as the 4 granddaughters of Pono, great-granddaughter of Mathys Coenradsten, a shipwrecked whaler, and Kelonikoa, a run-away Tahitian beauty sent to Hawai'i to marry the cousin of King Kamahameha III, are summoned "home." Pono is kahuna, able to see the future through her dreams. She has seen a faceless form swimming with her totem, sharks, and believes she will soon die. In her youth, Pono met and fell in love with Duke Kealoha, owner of a small coffee plantation on the big island of Hawaii. All of his family has died of leprosy and he, too, will be stricken with the disease and forced to confinement in the Kalaupapa leper colony on the island of Molokai. Over the years, Pono makes sneak visits to Kalaupapa, remaining faithful to her lover, Duke, and bearing him 4 daughters. The rigors of being a poor, single mother working in the pineapple canneries (the coffee plantation lies in ruin because the workers ran away, afraid of catching leprosy) take its toll on her relationship with her daughters, who do not know the truth about their father, and eventually they all run away, estranged from their mother. She returns to the coffee plantation and with the help of an old, destitute friend (Run Run) and Tang Pin, the plantation's faithful caretaker, she brings the plantation back to life. One day a baby,is left on the doorstep of the plantation house. Tied to her wrist is a note, "Her name is Rachel. Maybe you give her kine love I never got. Mina." Determined that Rachel grow up knowing her family, Run Run goes behind Pono's back and finds Edita, Holo and Emma and, while not reconciled with their mother, eventually they allow their daughters ( Vanya, Jessamyn and Ming) to make annual summer pilgrimages to the plantation. Summers on the plantation are filled with stories of the Coenradsten past and the family's connection to the history of Hawai'i, first as a sovereign monarchy and then as a territory of the United States. My perception of Hawai'i has always been "Paradise." In reading this book, my eyes were opened to a less than paradisiacal reality. Hawai'i was stolen from her native people. Their is a strong independence movement in Hawai'i ( www.hawaii-nation.org/ ). Perhaps Shark Dialogues is not so much a family saga as a political commentary. It's worth the read. (less)
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